Georgetown men’s basketball (17-15, 8-12 BIG EAST) lost for the third time to the DePaul Blue Demons (14-19, 4-16 BIG EAST) 71-67 in the first round of the BIG EAST Tournament on Mar. 12. Despite another spectacular performance from First Team All-Conference graduate guard Micah Peavy, the Hoyas fell to the Blue Demons for the second time in seven days.
This one started out very back and forth, as Georgetown took a narrow 10-8 advantage into the first media timeout behind six early points from junior guard Jayden Epps. As they have done for much of the season, however, the Blue Demons got loose from three. After making two straight triples out of the timeout, DePaul was now 4-of-6 for the game as the tenth-seeded Demons went on a 21-4 run that spanned much of the half to take a decisive 29-14 lead on the seventh-seeded Hoyas.
Teetering on the edge of a blowout loss to potentially end their season, Peavy did as Peavy does. With help from Epps, sophomore forward Drew Fielder and sophomore guard Curtis Williams Jr., the Hoyas stormed back into the game with a 12-0 run, aided by a switch to zone defense to slow DePaul’s humming offense. Shortly after, they followed it up with a 14-7 extended run to go into halftime up 40-38, taking their first lead since 10-8. Peavy led all scorers in the first half with 14 points while a pair of Blue Demons had 10. After starting the game hot from three, the Demons finished the half only 1-of-6 from range.
Coming out of the half, though, DePaul was the better team much as they were in the first. As Hoyas not named Peavy struggled from the field, DePaul found their footing again from three, splashing in four more in the second half. Not only that, but the play of junior forward NJ Benson shined for DePaul. He scored the majority of his team-leading 18 points in the second half, getting to the rim against Fielder who was deep in foul trouble.
With the Hoyas struggling on both ends, it was no surprise that DePaul was once again able to recapture the lead after some back and forth play in the first five minutes of the second half. Now leading 55-51, the lower-seeded Demons had all the momentum, extending their lead to nine points when Fielder fouled out with time running low. After his hot start, Epps was nowhere to be found, finishing the game 3-of-13 from the field. Despite multiple late game comebacks earlier in the year, the battered and bruised Hoya roster was showing its wear down the stretch.
In one last gasp, Peavy was able to nearly single handedly drag the Hoyas back into this one with a bevy of drives to the rim, getting the Hoyas within a possession at 70-67 with less than a minute to play. After getting a much needed defensive stop, DePaul sent Epps to the line in a tactical move to prevent the Hoyas from tying the game with a three. Needing to make at least one free throw to keep the Hoyas alive, Epps air-balled the front end of a one-plus-one trip to the line, effectively ending any hope the Hoya faithful had left as they fell 71-67 at the final buzzer. Peavy led the game with 26 points, tacking on 7 rebounds but it just wasn’t enough on a night when the Hoyas shot 25% from three.
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